Gary Armstrong describes the crucial Bank of Scotland Pro Rugby Cup match against Glasgow on Friday night as "the biggest game the Borders have ever played."

The Borders' qualification for the Heineken Cup rests on the remaining fixtures against Edinburgh and Glasgow and they will have to do without Armstrong at Netherdale on Friday night (7.30) after he picked up a head injury after only ten minutes into the game against his former side Newcastle on Saturday.

The Borders skipper is confident he'll be back for the remaining Bank of Scotland Pro Rugby Cup games and he said: "It would be huge if we can manage to win this match and qualify for the Heineken Cup.

"It'll be very, very frustrating for me to stand on the pitch at any time, but especially for this game. I'll do what I can off the field to support the guys in what is the biggest and most important game so far."

Last week's win by Glasgow over Edinburgh, the table leaders, has left the competition for Heineken Cup places finely poised.

For second-placed Borders victory over Glasgow on Friday will guarantee that European Cup rugby is played at Netherdale next season.

Head coach Tony Gilbert will name his side on Thursday but he wasn't a happy man after the 41-12 defeat at Newcastle.

"We were pretty sleepy in the first half, as the scoreline indicated. But in the second half we picked ourselves up, scored two tries, and began to look like a side that was awake. We'll be looking, of course, to take that second half into the match against Glasgow.

"It doesn't concern us that Glasgow won last week against Edinburgh and brought themselves right back into contention. It adds a dimension to the competition and puts real zip into it.

"If we want to qualify for the Heineken Cup we're going to need to play really well, and we'll have to deserve it. Glasgow's defeat of Edinburgh certainly keeps things interesting. But it doesn't affect us - we'll play our own game."

Meanwhile, New Zealand-born Borders prop Paul Thomson will have his appeal heard today for special dispensation from the International Rugby Board to play for Scotland.

The IRB's game regulations committee is set to make a recommendation on the 28-year-old's qualification to play for his adopted country, with the final decision coming on either Thursday or Friday.

Thomson has long-reaching links with Scotland, having had discussions with Melrose as far back as 1994 but, despite having a Scottish grandparent, the former Blues and Auckland player had his original application to play for Scotland turned down by the IRB on the grounds that he represented New Zealand A against the Australian Barbarians way back in 1999.

Thomson believes there are several grounds upon which his appeal should be allowed - such as the precedent set by the IRB in allowing, among others, former Australian Sevens player Steve Devine to play for the All Blacks , former Australian Barbarians flanker Keith Gleeson to subsequently embark on an international career with Ireland and former New Zealand A player Tony Marsh to appear for France. There are issues surrounding the eligibility of what constitutes a counting match and Thomson claims that the management of the New Zealand second-string side told him categorically at the time that his sitting on the bench for the team would not rule him out of playing for Scotland in the future, a question he specifically asked before agreeing to bench duty.